Well-sinking apparatus



(No Model.) 2 .Sheets-Sheet 1.

J. W. HUNT. A

WELL SINKING APPARATUS.

N0.,403,047. Patented May 7, 1889.

film] A35 0 J5 flaw. 96k

N. PETERS, Phulo-Lflhognphar. Washin iun. D. c

(No Model.) I 2 Sheets- -Sheet 2.

J.. W. HUNT,

WELL SINKING APPARATUS.

Illl

unnumulllllllllllllllllll 5 Illlilllll Illllllllllllllll V UNIT D STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES W. HUNT, OF PAWV PAW, ASSIGNOR TO FREDERICK O. AUSTIN, OF

. CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

WELL-SINKING APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 403,047, dated May '7, 1889.

Application filed March 19, 1888- Serial No. 267,791 (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J AMES W. HUNT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Paw Paw, in the county of Lee and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in' Well-Sinkin g Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an improvement in well-sinking apparatus, and more particularly to well-sinking apparatus wherein the first length or section of well-tubing is provided with a cutter and rotated so as to cut its Way into the earth,the next succeeding section being at a proper time secured to the sunken section and in turn rotated so as to continue the operation of sinking the welltubing, during which a supply of water under pressure is conducted down through the tubing and directed against the bit or cutter.

The objects of my invention are to provide improved and simplified means for rotating the well-tubing, and for providing between a rotary stock or holder by which the upper end of the tubing is engaged and any suitable source of driving-power a simple, economical, and highly-efficient power-transmitting connection capable of a ready and easy adaptation to the vertical movement of the rotating stock without retardation or hinderance in any respect whatsoever of the free and uniform transmission of power; also, to provide certain novel and improved details, all tending to the general efficiency of a well-sinking apparatus.

To the attainment of the foregoing and other useful ends my invention consists in matters hereinafter described, and particularly pointed out in. the claims.

In a construction of well-sinking apparatus characterized by my invention an appropriate length or section of well-tubing provided at one end with a suitably-constructed bit or cutter is at its other end attached to a rotary hollow stock or holder, through which a supply of water that is to be conducted downwardly through the well-tube to the cutter during the process of sinking the well-tube may be admitted. This rotary stock is connected by a rotary swivel-joint with a chambered head or follower having its chamber in open communication with the hollow welltube stock or holder, and also connected with a hose that can be extended to a suitable force-pump.

The chambered head or follower is suspended by some suitable raising and lowering device, so that it can be permitted to drop by gravity, so as to follow the sinking tube-section, and raised when it becomes necessary to couple 011 another tube-section, and is provided with a power-driven miter gear arranged to engage a corresponding gear secured on the rotary tube holding stock, whereby, while the head or follower carrying a gear for rotating the said stock and tube can be properly guided from or by appropriate guides or leaders, the stock and tube connected therewith can be freely rotated.

It is usually desirable to form the section of well-tubin g as long as may be compatible with its capability to successfully resist torsional strain, so as to avoid the frequent stoppage and repeated coupling necessarily incident to the employment of short lengths of tubing,

and hence when the tube length is brought into an upright position, preparatory to sinking it, the upper terminal of the tube will stand at a considerable distance above'jthe level of the ground, thereby bringing the gearing at the swivel-joint between the tubeholding stock and the head or follower at a corresponding height. Whatsoever, however, be the height primarily attain ed by the upper end of the tube and the head or follower carrying the aforesaid gearing, by which a direct application of power to the stock for rotating the same is attained, such gearing is reached by a flexible or jointed power-transmitting connection that is interposed between the gearing on the head or follower and the source of power and adapted to follow the tube in its vertical descent and effect a continuous and steady or uniform rotation of the same.

As a simple, effective, and highly eflicient power-transmitting connection for the foregoing purpose, a flexible or jointed support carrying a suitable arrangement of link belting and sprockets is at its upper end pivotally connected with or hinged to the suspended head or follower and at or about its lower end hinged to or pivotally mounted upon some appropriate support, in which way,

during both the descent of the head or follower in sinking a section of well-tube and in again raising the head or follower to the highest desired point, the jointed support will yield and accommodate itself to the movement of the head without impairing the integrity of the link belting as a power-transmitting medium. To adapt the belting to its jointed support, the belting is separated into endless lengths or sections, one for each length or section of the jointed support whereon the sprocket-wheels are mounted, a connection between two of such sections or endless lengths of belting being made at such joint as may occur along the jointed support by the provision of a double sprocket or couple of connected sprockets, one of which is for one endless-belt length and the other for the succeeding endless-belt length.

Certain details tending to the general ellicieney of the apparatus are hereinafter particularly set forth.

In the drawings, Figure 1. represents in perspective a well-sinking apparatus embodying the principles of my invention and in condition for service. Figs. 2 and 3 are views of the principal portion of the flexible or jointed support provided with sprockets for the belting. Fig. 4 is a section taken vertically through the rotary tube-holding stock swiveled to a suspended head or bearin Fig. 5 is a sectional detail representing in perspective a slide that is to be suspended from the raising or lowering rope or chain between suitable guides or leaders and detachably connected with the head 0 by a hinge-joint. Fig. 6 is a sectional plan taken 011 a horizontal plane through the leaders at a point above the suspended head or follower, said view also including the upper end portion of the jointed belt-support. Fig. 7 represents a universally -jointed rotary power transmitting shaft, which may be employed as a flexible power-transmitting connection between the gear on the rotary tube-holding stock and a suitable source of power.

In said drawings, A indicates a derrick, which may be of any construction suitable for suspending and permitting the raising and lowering of a device for engaging the tubing, such raising and lowering being herein eonveniently attained by a chain or rope, B, attached at one end to a suitable windingdrum and arranged to pass over a pulley at the top of the derrick.

As a means for rotating the well-tube that is to be sunk into the earth, a head or f0llower, C, suspended from the raising and lowering chain or rope and guided from or by suitable guides or leaders, is adapted to provide a bearing for the rotary tube-bolder or tubeholding stock D, that is attached to thehead by a rotary swivel-joint, inwhich way, while the head 0 can be guided in its vertical movement, the rotary tube-holding stock, when driven from a power-trailsmitting device, may freely rotate about a vertical. axis, and thereby effect a corresponding rotation on the part'of the well tube to which it is temporarily coupled.

The head 0 and rotary stock D, considered as a whole, constitute in effect a swivel whereof the upper part is non-rotatable, but guided so as to be capable of both rise and fall, while, on the other hand, the lower part of the swivel, which is adapted to engage an end of the well-tube, is free to rotate. The head or upper portion of such swivel. device, while serving as a bearing for the rotary stock or lower part of the swivel, also serves to provide a bearing for a miter-gear, E, arranged to engage a similar gear, F, secured upon the rotary stock, in which way, when the gear E is driven from a power-transmitting device or connection, the rotary stock will be operated so as to rotate the tube and thereby cause such cutter as may be attached to the lower end of the tube to perform its allotted work. The rotary stock, while serving, therefore, as a coupling between the well-tube and a driving mechanism, also acts in the capacity of a rotary driver, which when in engagement with the well-tube and driven from some suitable source of power operates in turn to rotate the well-tube.

The power-transmitting device or connection represented complete in Fig. 1 and in partin Figs. 2 to 6, both inclusive, comprises a couple of endless chain or link belts, G and G, arranged upon sprockets, which are in turn mounted upon a flexible or jointed support, H. The jointed. support herein represented comprises two lengths or sections hinged or jointed together to form a practically continuous flexible support, which is at one end hinged to or pivotally connected with the head or bearing for the rotary tubeholding stock and at its remaining or lower end hung or vfulerumed upon some suitable support. here the jointed support con1- prises but two sections, a double sprocket or a pair of connected sprockets, I, can be mounted at the joint between the two sections and a single sprocket arranged at each end of the jointed support, one of said sprockets I at the joint and a sprocket, K, at the upper end of the jointed support being reserved for the belt G, while, on the other hand, the remaining one of said sprockets I at the joint and a sprocket, L, at the lower end of the jointed support are provided for the endless belt G. In this way the powertransmitting belting divided into a couple of connected sections each composed of an endless belt attains the result of a single long endless belt extending the entire length of the support, but so arranged that one portion of the line of belting can occupy positions placing it at diiferent angles relatively to the remaining portion of the belting without affecting the free and perfect power-transmitting capability of the belting as an entirety.

Power can be transmitted from the belting to the gearing for rotating the tube-holding stock in any suitable way, a simple and economical application of the power from such belting being to connect the sprocket K at the upper end of the jointed support with the spindle E, whereon the miter-gear E is secured. The lower section, h, of the jointed support is herein shown, having its lower end hung, for convenience, upon a shaft, M; but no limitation is placed upon such arrangement, since it can be hinged to or fulcrumed upon any suitable support and in any suitable way which will permit it to have the desired eX- tent of swing.

When a tube-section is engaged by the rotary stock and raised, for example, as in Fig. 1, the swinging section h of the jointed support can stand more or less upright, while the upper section, h, of such support can assume a horizontal or substantially horizontal position, the precise relative angles of such sections being of course dependent upon their length, the distance to which the jointed swinging support, considered as a whole, is fulcrumed from the point at which the welltube is to be sunk, and the height attained by the well-tube preparatory to sinking it into the earth. When the several members are arranged substantially as in Fig. 1 and power applied from any suitable motor to drive the belting on the jointed support, the rotary stock D will be actuated to rotate the well-tube, which, being in practice provided with a bit or cutter at its lower end, will sink into the earth, and in so doing draw down both the head or bearing for the rotary tubeholding stock D and the upper end of the jointed support that is flexibly connected with such head. During this operation the upright section it of the jointed support will gradually swing toward the descending head, in which way, during the vertical descent of the Well-tube, the jointed support will freely and readily adapt itself to the descent of the head or follower C. This ready adaptation of both the jointed support and the powertransmitting connection thereon to the situation avoids side draft or pull upon the sinking tube and rotating stock from the commencement to the termination of the operation and insures a free and regular working of the power-transmitting connection.

lVith regard to certain preferred details of construction herein shown, the head 0 is chambered, as at 0, to provide between a hosepipe, which is understood to be connected with such chamber, and the hollow rotary stock or tube-holder D, which opens into the well-tube, an open communication whereby a supply of water under pressure can be admitted to the well-tube and thence conducted down to the bit or cutter at the lower end of such tube. The rotary stock or tube-holder D can be coupled in any suitable way with the well-tube-as, for example, it can, at its lower end, be threaded, so as to screw into the well-tube, although other modes of coupling may, if desired, be employed.

The rotary stock or tube-holder is herein shown extending up through a stufling-box, C,in the lower portion of head 0, and provided at its upper end, which enters chamber 0, with an annular shoulder, (1, thereby providing a simple arrangement of rotary swiveljoint between the stock and the head.

As a means for suspending and guiding the head or follower C, it may, in, place of being directly attached to the suspending chain or rope, be pivotally suspended from a properly guided slide, the object of thus hanging the head being to facilitate the operation of sinking a desired number of tube-sections, as hereinafter set forth. The bearings for a pivot, c, by which the head is conveniently attached to a slide, N, are preferably formed in a plug or cap, 0 arranged to close the upper end of chamber 0 in the head, it being seen that such application of a removable plug or cap permits the rotary stock to be coupled to the head when the bottom of cham her 0 is utilized as a seat or bearing for the shoulder on the rotary stock in place of providing the head with a seat or-bearing for such shoulder at some other point.

The slide N is suspended from the raising and lowering rope or chain and guided by suitably-supported guides or leaders P, in which way the head can swing out from between the leaders in first raising a section of tubing from a recumbent position upon the ground into position for sinking. v The head 0 is provided at opposite sides of the gear E with appropriate bearings for the spindle E, and the sprocket K is desirably secured upon a sleeve or hollow axle, k, which can be removably keyed upon the spindle E, so that it may be removed therefrom preparatory to picking up a fresh length of tubing.

As a simple mode of hinging together the sections of the jointed support and providing bearings for the journals of the belt pulleys or sprockets, each length or section is shown equipped at each end with a yoke. The yokes h and h at the joint between the two sections can be connected together by and afford bearings for the axle of sprockets I, which axle in turn becomes a pintle for the hinge-connection at this point. The yoke h at one extreme end of the jointed support can be hung upon a shaft-such as shaft M-arranged to afford a driving-axle for sprocket L, while the yokeh at the opposite extreme end of the jointed support can afford bearings for the sleeve .or hollow axle k, whereon the sprocket K is herein shown arranged as in Fig. 4:.

As a means for pivoting the jointed support upon the shaft shown as its fulcral support, the lower end of its section It can be provided with downwardly-diverging arms h, hung upon the shaft, although, as hereinbefore observed, any other suitable bearing can be provided for pivotally sustaining the swinging jointed support. The jointed support is also desirably provided with a swivel-.

joint, as at If, the utility of which will appear from the following: After the first length of well-tubing carrying the bit or cutter has been sunk it becomes necessary to couple a second section to its upper end, and so on until the required depth has been reached. As soon, therefore, as the first section has been sunk the slide N can be detached from head E by removing, for example, the pivot connecting such members, and a similar head carrying a rotary tube-holding stock previously attached to a second length can be connected with the slide N. This second section, which usually lies upon the ground, will require its said allotted head and stock to be swung out from the leaders preparatory to its being lifted to a vertical position. Before raising the second tube-section, however, the power-transmitting connection should be detached from the head first employed and transferred to the head n ext employed, which transferment can be readily effected by unkeying the tubular sleeve or axle it of the sprocket K from the gear-spindle E and slipping it off, thereby permitting the removal of both the sprocket K and the yoke h from the first head and the attachment of such members to the aforesaid second head. At this juncture the swivel 7L7 in the jointed connec tion becomes of service, since it permits the ready adjustment of the hollow axle of sprocket K relatively to the position occupied by the gear-spindle of the head allotted to such new length of well-tubing as is to be raised. The object of thus working with two heads and rotary stocks is to permit the pumping to continue until the second length of tubing is ready to be coupled to the first, at which juncture the pumping may be stopped in order that the rotary stock can be detached from the sunken tube and the next succeeding length of tubing coupled to said tube.

While the foregoing details of construction constitute preferred devices for carrying out the principles of my invention and involve constructions which I regard as the best for such purpose, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and changes may be made, and hence for the broader purposes of my invention I do not confine myself to the precise construction shown.

As an illustration of a jointed power-transmitting device, serving to attain the combined functions of the jointed support and belting, which may also be considered as joint-ed, I have shown in Fig. 7 a universallyjointed rotary drivingshaft, which in lieu of being provided with sprockets could be provided with gear-wheels, one arranged to drive the gearing on the head E and the other to engage some suitable driving-gear. The arrangement of the jointed support carrying sprockets and belting is the preferred one; but in the broader application of the system of rotating a well-tube herein involved I de sire to be understood as covering both the belting on a jointed support and the rotary universally-jointed shaft, reserving the j ointed support and belting as a matter selected for special claims.

It will also be apparent that the jointed elbow-support herein shown could, if desired, be provided with a plurality of joints and sections, the belts being in such case correspondingly increased in number.

It will also be apparent that the rotary stock herein adapted for holding a section of welltubing could, with but slight modification, be adapted to serve as a stock. for holding any desired well-boring tool.

\Vhat I claim as my invention is- 1. The combination, substantially as hereinbefore set forth, in a well-sinking apparatus, of a suspended rotary stock for the purpose described, a raising and lowering device by which the rotary stock is suspended, and a flexible power-tramsmitting device for driving the rotary stock from some suitable source of power, the power-transmitting device being arranged to yield during the descent of the rotary stock and permit it to drop by gravity in a vertical path.

2. The combination, substantially as hereinbeforc set forth, in a well-sinking apparatus, of a suspended rotary stock, a raising and lowering device by which the rotary stock is suspended, and a flexible power-transmitting device arranged. for driving and permitting the descent by gravity of the rotary stock, and consisting of a jointed swinging pulleysupport provided with connected endless belts and pulleys therefor, said jointed support being fulcrumed at its lower end to permit it to swing and yield to allow the rotary stock to descend in a vertical path.

In a well-sinking apparatus, the rotary stock provided with a gear, in combination with a verticallyanovable head with which the rotary stock is connected by arotary joint, and a gear carried by said head and engaging the gear upon the rotary stock, substantially as set forth.

at. In a well-sii'iking apparatus, the combination, with a flexible power-transmitting device, such as set forth, of the rotary stock having a rotary connection with a suspended and vertically movable head or bearing, and a gear-connection between the rotary stock and the said flexible power-trans1nit-ting device, substantially as described.

5. In a well-sinking apparatus, the combination, with a head or follower, and a gear,E, carried thereby and having its spindle extended to provide a bearing, for the purpose set forth, of the rotary stock and a gear, F, arranged thereon and having a rotary connection with said head or follower, substantially as described.

6. In a well-sinking apparatus, the combination, with the head or follower G, pivotally attached to a vertically-movable slide, of the rotary stock having a rotary connection with said head or follower, substantially as set sprockets and belting thereon and having a forth. swivel-joint at a point along its length, for

- 7. In a well-sinking apparatus, the combithe purpose specified.

I nation, With the rotary tube-holding stook JAS. W. HUNT.

5 swiveled to a suspended head and a raising Witnesses:

and lowering device by which the head is sus- CHAS. G. PAGE,

pended, of the jointed support provided with L. S. LOGAN. 

